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From what I have read, this system seems to suit my current setup (no air or guns) and I dislike nitro fumes. So in a nutshell, the steps are ??

Sand, fill with zpoxy, sand, then start rubbing the shellac in? Are there grades of shellac? I assume these are the chips that one dissolves in alcohol? Is there sanding between apps? How many apps? Are mistakes easily worked out? Oh, and what kind of material for the rubbing?

Thanks,

Mike

Read the Milburn Tutorial.  It is great.  You'll find it

HERE

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

It uses the pumice process for filling, so if you use Z-Poxy, you'll want to skip that part of the process.  The rest is pretty well explained.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I will second Hesh's advice about Robbie's really excellent video.

I use Zinsser Universal Sanding Sealer to FP - it is a 2 lb. cut and seems to work very nicely. Others mix up there own.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Another one on the Robbie DVD advise! It covers french polish and a few other alternative finishes too.

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

[QUOTE=SteveCourtright] I use Zinsser Universal Sanding Sealer to FP - it is a 2 lb. cut and seems to work very nicely. [/QUOTE]
Make sure the can says "Seal Coat." The other Zinsser shellac contains wax, which is undesirable for our purposes.

[QUOTE=CarltonM] [QUOTE=SteveCourtright] I use Zinsser Universal Sanding Sealer to FP - it is a 2 lb. cut and seems to work very nicely. [/QUOTE]
Make sure the can says "Seal Coat." The other Zinsser shellac contains wax, which is undesirable for our purposes. [/QUOTE]

Right you are, Sir!

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

be sure to seal purflings and bindings and top if woods that bleed color are used for back and sides. prior to pore filling. This is a lesson hard learned if you don't.

Sand the zpoxy back to bare wood leaving on the zpoxy only in the pores. Then make a batch of Zpoxy 60%/ DA 40% and very lightly rag on . This is very thin and leaves almost nothing on the surface but rather just colors thee bare wood. Allow to cure, sand lightly with 400p then your ready to start the boding sessions.

The most common mistake by first Time French polishers is to apply the shellac too wet. this leades to many different problems.

I also recommend that you spirit-off after every body session after the the second body session. If done properly this will cause you to build a level film from the get go and not need to level sand at any time.

This type of finish is easy to succeed well with the first attempt, but it is a lot more work than you may think going in. Read the Milburn tutorial several times through. Know the different process and what they do.

It should take 6-10 boding sessions to build the film dependent on the wood and how well you filled the pores and 3-5 glazing sessions or more for hand rubbed high gloss.

I too use Zinsser's Universal Seal Coat for most of my FP finishes, if a light amber tint is desired as it is a 50% amber/50% blond mix. This is the only Hardware store available shellac premix that is 100% wax free and suitable for instrument grade finishes. This is also the shellac I use for a sanding sealer. Self Life is advertised at 3 years if well sealed and kept in 65-75 deg storage but I would only keep it for 6-8 months.

If a clear none tint finish is desired then you will have to mix up your own cuts of extra blond shellac flakes.

Practice many time before you start.

Good pads (muneca) are essential. Old Muslin or Linen outer pads are best. Inner pads undyed 100% wool I believe to be the best. 100% cotton balls and 100% cotton fine grade cheesecloth will work.

Change the outer pad regularly to avoid staining or entrapping foreign particles.

There is a lot to learn in technique and feel for this process but is doable by almost anyone.

This is one of the oldest fine finishes and is Ideal for most instruments. This is probably the most tone efficient finish and the easiest to repair once the process is understood.

Good luck and am here to help if you need it

Michael

Michael, the Liberon Special Pale French Polish is also an instrument quality de-waxed pre-mixed shellac. I use it exclusively on my guitars. I especially like this one as it is virtually colourless.



Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

COOL